Pedal bin

ABSTRACT

A pedal bin having a housing in which a waste container can be accommodated, a lid mounted at the top of the housing by a pivot pin, which lid has a lever that extends on the side of the pivot pin facing away from the lid and at this location has a sliding construction that allows a sliding movement between a relatively low position and a relatively high position in a plane transverse to the pivot pin, a movable pedal provided at the bottom of the housing as well as an operating member interacting with the sliding construction of the lid and the pedal for pivoting the lid, by depressing the pedal, between a closed position and a first open position defined by a first pivot angle with respect to the closed position, the sliding construction and the operating member being in the relatively low position and the operating member being subjected to tensile force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a pedal bin comprising a housing in which awaste container can be accommodated, a lid mounted at the top of thehousing by means of a pivot pin, which lid has lever means that extendon the side of the pivot pin facing away from the lid and at thislocation has a sliding construction that allows a sliding movementbetween a relatively low position and a relatively high position in aplane transverse to the pivot pin, a movable pedal provided at thebottom of the housing and an operating rod interacting with the slidingconstruction of the lid and the pedal for pivoting the lid, by means ofdepressing the pedal, between a closed position and a first openposition defined by a first pivot angle with respect to the closedposition, the sliding construction and the operating rod being in therelatively low position and the operating rod being subjected to tensileforce.

2. Description of the Related Art

A pedal bin of this type is disclosed in NL-A 1 005 057. This knownpedal bin has the disadvantage that the lid cannot easily be pivotedinto a second position in which it is opened further.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the invention is therefore to provide a pedal bin that doesnot have these disadvantages. Said aim is achieved in that the lid canbe pivoted further into a second open position defined by a second pivotangle with respect to the closed position by direct operation of thelid, for example, by hand, which second pivot angle is larger than thefirst pivot angle, and in that auxiliary means are provided for holdingthe sliding construction in the relatively high position when the lidmoves into the second open position, it being possible to move thesliding construction and the operating member into the relatively lowposition overcoming the pretension when the pedal is depressed, and inthat stop means are provided for defining the first open position andthe second open position of the lid, which stop means comprise a stopmember fixed to the lid as well as at least two operating membersections, such that in the relatively low position of the operatingmember the stop member is in contact with a first operating membersection and in the relatively high position of the operating member thestop member is in contact with a second operating member section.

Because the pedal bin according to the invention has auxiliary means forholding the sliding construction up, the advantage is obtained that boththe first open position and the second open position of the lid areclearly defined by separate stops.

The sliding construction can be made in various ways, for example usinga carriage. According to a preferred embodiment the sliding constructioncomprises a lever with a slot, which slot has an end positionedrelatively low and an end positioned relatively high, as well as aslider that can be slid in the slot and is joined to the pull rod. Asimple embodiment is preferred in connection with reliability,durability and cost price. In a very simple embodiment the slider isformed by an end of the pull rod that is accommodated in the slot suchthat it can slide.

The auxiliary means can comprise a pretensioning member that engages onthe sliding construction. For example, the pretensioning member cancomprise a helical torsion spring that is located around the pivot pin.

If the centre of gravity of the lid is on the side of the lid facingaway from the lever means when the lid is in the first open position, itis always ensured that when the lid is operated by the foot this alwaysreturns to the closed position under the influence of gravity. It isthen not necessary to close the lid by hand.

Although a pull rod has been mentioned as an example of the operatingmember, an operating member that is flexible to bending but rigid topulling, such as a wire line or chain or the like, can also be used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to theillustrative embodiment shown in the figures.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a pedal bin according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a section through the region of the container where the lidhinge is located, with the lid in the closed position.

FIG. 3 shows a section corresponding to that in FIG. 2, with the lid inthe first open position.

FIG. 4 shows a section corresponding to that in FIG. 2, with the lid inthe second open position.

FIG. 5 shows a partial bottom view, in perspective, of the region of thepedal bin where the lid hinge is located.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a known manner the pedal bin shown in FIG. 1 has a housing 1 in whichthere is a container 2 (see FIGS. 2-4). The container is closed off atthe top by the hinged lid 3. The lid can be opened by means of the pedal4, as will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2-4.

The pedal 4 is connected in a known manner, which is not shown in moredetail, to the pull rod indicated in its entirety by 5. This pull rodhas a vertical main section 6 to which the end section 8, which likewiseruns virtually vertically, is joined via the laterally bent section 7.This end section 8 merges into a bent end 9 that has been inserted inthe somewhat curved slot 10 in the lever 11. This lever 11 is fixed tothe lid 3, specifically on that side of the hinge pin 12 by means ofwhich the lid 3 is attached to the container 1 such that it can pivot,facing away from said lid 3.

The major section of the pull rod 5, in particular the vertical mainsection 6, runs inside the container 1. The lateral section 7 protrudesoutwards via the slot 13.

In the rest position shown in FIG. 2, in which the lid 3 is closed onthe container 1, the end 9 of the pull rod 5 is in the relatively lowposition in contact with the end wall 14 of the slot 10. When the pedal4 is depressed, the pull rod 5 moves downwards, the lever 11, and thusthe lid 3, being pivoted about the pivot pin 10 by the end 9 of saidpull rod 5 into the position shown in FIG. 3. During this operation theend 9 remains pressed against the end wall 14 of the slot 10.

The lever 11 has a stop member 16 that, as shown in FIG. 3, comes intocontact with the vertical end section 8 of the pull rod 5 during thismovement. As a result the first open position of the lid 3, which isreached by operation of the pedal 4, is well defined. Preferably thecentre of gravity 17 of the lid 3 in the position shown in FIG. 3 isstill on the side of the container 1 with respect to the pivot pin 12such that the lid 3 pivots back into the closed position under theinfluence of gravity when the pedal 4 is released.

The lid 3 can also be opened from the closed position shown in FIG. 2without operating the pedal 4. The lid 3 can be raised by hand, with theintention of obtaining a second open position of the lid 3 that isfurther open. In this second open position the container 2 can, forexample, be removed from the housing 1 or replaced in the housing 1after the container 2 has been emptied. However, without a furtherfacility the pull rod 5 would drop under the influence of gravity duringsaid manual opening because the end wall 14 of the slot 10 movesdownwards. The stop member 16 would thus then also come into contactwith the end section 8 of the pull rod 5 again, as a result of which thelid 3 would not be able to be pivoted further than the first openposition shown in FIG. 3.

According to the invention a torsion spring indicated in its entirety by18 is now provided. The helically wound section 19 thereof is arrangedaround the rotary pin 12. The one end 20 of the torsion spring bearsinside the chamber 22 of the hinge section that is joined to the lid 3;the other end 21 is hooked under the end 9 of the pull rod 5. Thetorsion spring 18 is pretensioned in such a way that a pretensioningforce oriented upwards is exerted on the end 9.

As a consequence of this pretensioning force the pull rod 5 remains inthe relatively high position even when the lid 3 is pivoted by hand intothe open position in FIG. 4. As a result the end 9 comes into contactwith the relatively high end wall 14 of the slot 10. As a result thestop member 16 is able to move past the end section 8 and the lid 3 isable to reach the second open position according to FIG. 4 unimpeded. Inthis second open position the stop member 16 is in contact with thelaterally bent section 7 and/or with the curved section 23 that islocated between the end section 8 running vertically and the section 7bent laterally.

The advantage of the use of a pull member such as a pull rod or pullwire is that more direct operation of the lid is possible by this meansthan with a push rod. This advantage comes to the forefront especiallyin the case of larger containers with a large lid. A pull rod provides arelatively rigid transmission. A push rod has the disadvantage that therigidity thereof is less as a consequence of kinking phenomena.

1. A pedal waste bin comprising: a housing in which a waste containercan be accommodated, a lid mounted at the top of the housing by means ofa pivot pin, which lid has a lever mechanism that extends on the side ofthe pivot pin facing away from the lid and at this location has asliding construction, a movable pedal provided at the bottom of thehousing, and an operating member interacting with the slidingconstruction of the lid and the pedal for pivoting the lid, by means ofdepressing the pedal, between a closed position and a first openposition defined by a first pivot angle with respect to the closedposition, the sliding construction and an end portion of the operatingmember allowing a sliding movement between a relatively low position anda relatively high position in a plane transverse to the pivot pin, thesliding construction and the operating member being in the relativelylow position and the operating member being subjected to tensile forcein the first open position, wherein the lid can be pivoted from theclosed position into a second open position defined by a second pivotangle with respect to the closed position by direct operation of the lidby hand, the second pivot angle being larger than the first pivot angle,and the sliding construction and the operating member being in therelatively high position in the second open position, a pretensioningmechanism is provided for holding the sliding construction and said endportion of the operating member under pretension in the relatively highposition, it being possible to move the sliding construction and saidend portion of the operating member into the relatively low positionovercoming the pretension when the pedal is depressed, the pretensioningmechanism comprising a spring provided at the lever mechanism anddirectly acting on said end portion of the operating member so as toexert an upwards force, and a stop mechanism is provided for definingthe first open position and the second open position of the lid both asrespective end positions when opening the lid from the closed position,the stop mechanism comprising at least two operating member sections anda stop member, such that the stop member is fixed to the lid and thatthe stop member is in contact with a first operating member section inthe relatively low position of the operating member and the first openposition of the lid, and the stop member is in contact with a secondoperating member section in the relatively high position of theoperating member and the second open position of the lid.
 2. The pedalbin according to claim 1, wherein the sliding construction comprises alever with a slot, which slot has an end positioned relatively low andan end positioned relatively high, as well as a slider that can be slidin the slot and is joined to the operating member.
 3. The pedal binaccording to claim 2, wherein the operating member has an end that isaccommodated in the slot such that it can slide.
 4. The pedal binaccording to claim 1, wherein the pretensioning member comprises ahelical torsion spring having a helically wound section arranged aroundthe pivot pin such that the pivot pin passes through the helically woundsection.
 5. The pedal bin according to claim 1, wherein the centre ofgravity of the lid is on the side of the lid facing away from the levermeans when the lid is in the first open position.
 6. The pedal binaccording to claim 1, wherein the centre of gravity of the lid is on theside of the lid facing the lever means when the lid is in the secondopen position.
 7. The pedal bin according to claim 1, wherein theoperating member comprises a pull rod.